STOCKHOLM, July 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Cantargia AB announce that the European Patent Office (EPO) has issued an Intention to grant notification for the company's divisional (second, follow-up) patent application regarding use of IL1RAP as a target for antibody therapy in solid tumours. The patent application has application number 15197139.7. Cantargia has previously received formal patent approval in Europe and other major territories for use of IL1RAP as target molecule for antibody therapy of several types of tumours.

Cantargia's lead project CAN04 (nidanilimab) is in clinical development, currently focused on treatment of non-small cell lung cancer and pancreatic cancer. Cantargia already holds an approved patent in Europe covering a method of using IL1RAP as target molecule for antibody treatment of solid tumours such as colon cancer, breast cancer and lung cancer. The patent provides protection until 2032. After grant of that patent, Cantargia submitted a follow-up patent application covering treatment of further solid tumour diseases and has now received an Intention to grant for this application from the EPO. If the application is formally approved Cantargia will have patent protection in the Europe for antibody based treatment against IL1RAP in the great majority of solid tumour types until 2032. Certain administrative steps remain before the final approval can be issued by EPO.

"We are very pleased that EPO intends to grant this patent application covering additional tumour forms. Strong patent protection in the field of IL1RAP antibodies and cancer therapy is of importance in our commercialisation strategy. This preliminary approval is a further part in the robust protection that we are building globally," Göran Forsberg, CEO of Cantargia, says.

This is information that Cantargia AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 8:30 CET on 11 July 2018.

About Cantargia

Cantargia AB (publ), reg.no. 556791-6019, is a biotech company that is developing antibody-based treatments for life-threatening diseases. The original discovery by the research team behind Cantargia was the overexpression of a specific target molecule, interleukin 1 receptor accessory protein (IL1RAP) in leukemic stem cells. Subsequent research has also identified IL1RAP in many other forms of cancer. The company's main project, the CAN04 (nidanilimab) antibody targeted against IL1RAP, is being studied in the CANFOUR clinical phase I/IIa study, where the primary focus is on non-small cell lung cancer and pancreatic cancer. CAN04 (nidanilimab) has two modes of action: it blocks the function of IL1RAP and stimulates the immune system to destroy tumour cells. Cantargia's second project, currently in the research phase, is aimed at developing an IL1RAP-binding antibody that is optimised for treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

Cantargia is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm First North (ticker: CANTA). Sedermera Fondkommission is the company's Certified Adviser. More information about Cantargia is available at http://www.cantargia.com.